Many people get Social Security benefits based on their own work history — but not everyone.
Some people instead claim retirement checks based on a spouse’s work record instead of their own. These benefits are called spousal benefits. If you claim spousal benefits, you could receive as much as half of the full benefit owed to your husband or wife.
Spousal benefits could pay more than your own retirement benefits if your spouse earned more than you. And the good news is, these benefits are not just available to people who are currently married. If you are divorced, you may still be entitled to them, as long as you can meet certain requirements. Here’s what they are.
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You must meet these requirements to get spousal benefits after a divorce
It is possible to claim spousal benefits after a divorce as long as:
- You were married for at least 10 years.
- You have not remarried someone else.
If you have remarried someone else since your divorce, you wouldn’t be eligible to get spousal benefits on your ex’s work history, but could typically claim them based on your new partner’s earning records (as long as you were married to your new partner for at least a year).
When can you claim your Social Security spousal benefits?
If you are eligible for spousal benefits after a divorce, you need to know when you can actually start receiving them.
Generally speaking, you’ll have to be at least 62 years old to claim your first spousal benefits check from Social Security. And if you start prior to your full retirement age, you will permanently shrink the amount you receive.
However, unlike when you claim your own Social Security retirement benefits on your work record, you cannot earn delayed retirement credits by waiting until after your full retirement age to begin checks. So waiting beyond FRA doesn’t provide any additional income.
If you have been divorced for at least two years, you also do not need to wait for your ex to claim their own Social Security retirement benefits before you start getting your spousal benefits. This is different from the way it works for married couples. If you were still married, your spouse would need to get their own retirement benefits before you could claim on their work record.
It is important to note that if you were born after 1954 and you file for benefits, you are deemed to have filed for any retirement or spousal benefits you’re entitled to. So you can’t just claim spousal benefits and put off getting your own checks — nor can you file only for your own retirement benefits and delay spousal benefits. Previously, this was a technique people used to allow one benefit to grow while getting income from the other.
Be sure you understand how your eligibility for spousal benefits work, and make an informed, strategic choice about when you claim them, because this money could be a key source of income throughout your later years.